ѕтιℓℓ вяєαтнιиg
by Fireworksafterdawn
Summary: The Dark Forest has won the Great Battle generations ago. StarClan is dead, and the Dark Forest is what the Clans at the lake worship now. Now, the medicine apprentice of WindClan and a young ShadowClan warrior must work together to find out what murky secrets the Dark Forest have covered, and together must rediscover StarClan and bring long-awaited peace to the lake territories.
1. Retirement

**The Code of No Stars**

1\. Defend your Clan, even with your life. All cats outside of your Clan is an enemy that must be fought.

2\. If you fall in love or take a mate from a cat outside of your Clan, the punishment is exile or death. If any kittens spawn from the union, they will be slaughtered without question.

3\. Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.

4\. Warriors eat after the kits. Queens and Medicine cats eat after the Warriors.

5\. Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to the Dark Forest for its sacrifice.

6\. A kit must be at least four moons old to become an apprentice.

7\. Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

8\. A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

9\. The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.

10\. After the death, retirement, promotion (to a leader status), or exile of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

11\. Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

12\. The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code.

13\. A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

14\. All warriors that reach the age of eight leaf-bears must either be exiled or killed. The leader may outgrow the eight leaf-bare limit, however.

15\. Medicine cats meet every new moon at the Moonpool to commune with the Dark Forest.

16\. A medicine cat cannot have a mate or kits. If such an occurrence rises, the mate must be exiled or killed and the kits must be slaughtered without question.

17\. Leaders and deputies must be prioritized in healing above all other cats.

18\. Any act of defiance or treason to your home Clan is punishable by death.

* * *

"You have reached the age of eight leaf-bares." began Sagestar with a cold voice ringing through WindClan's camp, her voice carrying through the air like a leaf-fall chill. Her green eyes were glistening frost in the dawn. "Mistytail, you must decide now. Will you leave WindClan an elder or die a warrior?"

Pearpaw exhaled a puff of air from her mouth as she brushed closer to Flowerfire, her mentor. The white molly slowly craned her head to look at the shuddering Mistytail, the orange tabby queen's tail was lashing back and forth uneasily as her kits clung to her paws, Mosskit and Hawkkit.

The queen looked pleadingly at Sagestar's frozen gaze. "Please, I have kits! Let me stay just a little bit longer, at least until they become apprentices!" She brushed a long ginger tail over the wailing kits, her eyes beginning to mist over in sorrow. "It's just a few more moons, and then I'll leave WindClan, I swear!"

Sagestar took a deep breath and shook her head at the queen. "We cannot make an exception for you, Mistytail." Pearpaw could swear she saw a glint of regret in the new leader's eyes. Sagestar had only taken the reigns as leaders about two seasons ago. Being a leader included the heavy task of exiling any warrior at the age of eight leaf-bares. If they refused to leave, the leader had to execute them.

Hawkkit pressed close into Mistytail's fur with wide and sad blue eyes. "Mama, no, please don't go yet!"

"It's not fair!" Mosskit added with a wail.

Mistytail's gaze hardened at her kits' words. She glared up defiantly at Sagestar suddenly, and Pearpaw held her breath. Flowerfire drew the apprentice closer and whispered in her ear, "It'll be over soon. Grit your teeth and bare it."

Pearpaw couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Flowerfire would rather say those words to the queen that Sagestar was staring down. The white molly tried to fluff up her fur defensively, but to no avail as a chilly wind blew right through the young apprentice.

"I'm not leaving." Mistytail declared. "I am going to stay with my kits. You can't drive me out like that." Her voice was verging on a frozen hiss of resistance.

Pearpaw's breath lurched when Sagestar jumped down the stone where she stood and slowly approached Mistytail who was visibly shaking at this point, drawing her kits closer to her chest. Sagestar looked confident with her swift and calculated pawsteps. The deputy, Amberfern stood nearby, unsheathing her claws, watching carefully.

"This is your final warning, Mistytail." Sagestar said slowly.

"And I already gave you my answer." Mistytail replied with a lashing tail.

Sagestar sighed and turned her head to face Amberfern and Flowerfire in turn. "You two, take Mosskit and Hawkkit into the nursery." She commanded.

Flowerfire stood up, drawing her long brown tail over Pearpaw's shoulder for a while as she and Amberfern approached the kits clinging to Mistytail's fur.

"Get your paws off of them!" the queen demanded, arching her back and spitting at the two high-ranking cats, swiping her orange paws at Flowerfire's cheek, drawing blood to streak down the medicine cat's face. The brown speckled molly flinched back, still gripping Mosskit's scruff tightly as Amberfern pulled away Hawkkit.

Flowerfire sent an apologetic glance to Pearpaw, who watched the scene unfold with large, unblinking green eyes. The apprentice has seen scenes like this before in her Clan, but it was never with a nursing queen before. The medicine cat apprentice couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for Mistytail as the kits were wrenched away from her.

Sagestar stood tall, towering over Mistytail who was still crying out for her kits. The leader ignored her. "Mistytail, you have elected death over exile. And you shall die a warrior's death."

"You're fox-dung." She spat at Sagestar, arching her back. Her claws flexed in and out of the dirt underneath her. Pearpaw felt something cold and delicate land on her nose. She glanced up to see that it was beginning to snow and she shuddered from the chilling breeze. The molly slowly inched her way back into the medicine den to get out of the snow.

Sagestar wordlessly pounced on top of Mistytail and the queen hissed as the much-larger leader bounded on top of her. The orange molly slashed forward her back legs to rake over Sagestar's stomach and tried to flip her over. But the larger leader pinned her front claws firmly over Mistytail's shoulders and shoved her into the ground. In a swift movement, rolled over Mistytail onto the side and lurched her head forward and firmly planted her jaw over the queen's throat with a low growl.

Pearpaw couldn't take it much longer. She quickly turned around to enter the medicine den, wiping a paw over her eyes, trying to erase what she had just watched. The scent of blood wafted into the den, and she knew Mistytail had died. She heard Mosskit scream in terror and Hawkkit wail in unison. Pearpaw trudged to her nes sadly, feeling like her paws were heavier than ever before.

Several heartbeats later, the scent of Flowerfire wafted through the den and Pearpaw raised her head to meet her mentor's amber gaze. The medicine cat opened her mouth to say something but then shut it again before looking away. "I'm sorry." She mumbled at last, settling into her nest next to Pearpaw's.

"What about Hawkkit and Mosskit?" Pearpaw questioned softly, trying to keep her voice neutral. She didn't want to start a conflict between her and Flowerfire, and she knew her mentor could get passionate about certain subjects, so the apprentice had to tread the topic lightly.

"They have weaned off of Mistytail's milk, they'll be fine." Flowerfire started with a level voice, but still not making eye contact with Pearpaw, her gaze fixated on the stone and dirt wall of the medicine den as she played with some poppy seeds beneath her paws. "Mistytail was to return to her warrior duties soon, anyway."

"They really didn't want her to go." Pearpaw said quietly, trying to meet Flowerfire's gaze to no success. Pearpaw felt her eyes mist over as she quickly looked away. "Why must we kill our elders?"

Flowerfire took a shaky breath and went on, "It is the way the Dark Forest commands." Her voice was frigid, but somewhat mournful at the same time. "The Clans haven't had elders in generations. They do not serve the Clan in hunting nor fighting. They are simply extra mouths to be fed that have no use. And as I've said, we must obey the Dark Forest, otherwise we'd cease to be."

Pearpaw had heard Flowerfire speak plenty of the Dark Forest and how they must worship it along with the Code of No Stars. But her heart ached for perhaps something more but she couldn't put her paw on it exactly. Something simply felt off about it all and she knew that Flowerfire felt that way as well.

"As medicine cats," she said coolly, raising her body to approach a stalk of withering feverfew in the corner of the den, "we must listen to the Dark Forest's words and interpret them for our Clan." Flowerfire glanced over at Pearpaw, her amber gaze boring hard into her. "In the next few nights when the new moon rises, we will be going to the Moonpool. The Dark Forest will see if you are truly worthy of being my apprentice."

"Yes, Flowerfire." Pearpaw meowed softly, resting her head onto her paws, scanning her eyes over the herbs. She took a deep breath and released it, stepping out of her nest for her daily lessons.


	2. Play-Fight

**Chapter 2**

Nettlepaw stood tall, blood dripping down his whiskers as his ice cold gaze raked over the body of the ThunderClan warrior he had slain. Jayfire's stare bore into the back of his skull and he turned around to face his mother.

"Excellent." The black tabby purred as she brushed along her son's thick fur.

"Very much so." Cardinalfoot commented calmly, flicking an ear at the mother and son. Nettlepaw felt his gaze land on him and he returned the stare to his mentor. Cardinalfoot simply smirked at him. "Palestar will be pleased to hear about this."

"Oh yes!" Jayfire returned with gleaming orange eyes to the deputy and then looking back to her son. She brushed her cheek against his neck. "Let us return, you should have first pick of the fresh-kill pile, right, Cardinalfoot?"

He nodded in agreement, kicking away the limp body of the ThunderClan warrior that the apprentice had just slaughtered and began walking through the pine forest back to the ShadowClan camp. He turned to look at his apprentice, Nettlepaw with a warm gaze. Nettlepaw glanced at him with cold blue eyes. "I did as asked." The apprentice said simply.

"You did." Cardinalfoot began. "And you did well. Your first kill as well, I believe. I knew you had potential when I first laid eyes on you."

"On account of my father?" Nettlepaw returned with a steady gaze. He lashed his tail a bit as his paws pressed into the marshy earth beneath him. Nettlepaw flicked a sharp dark gray ear at his mentor as though challenging the deputy. He didn't want to be praised simply for what his father had accomplished, but rather on his own skill and merit.

"Of course not." Cardinalfoot scoffed, getting a light giggle from Jayfire ahead of them. Cardinalfoot blinked slowly and then turned to face Nettlepaw's steady but hard gaze. "You are your own cat. You do have a lot to live up to, I understand that. But you are doing very well on your own."

The thick pine branches covering the entrance of the camp loomed ahead of them, two guard cats stood at the entrance. Nettlepaw nodded rigidly to both of them on the way in, pine needles scraping against his pelt. The camp was bustling with activity, Rockyspeck and Dewmask were entertaining their kits in the center of camp, Palestar watching from a tree stump near the leader's den. The night-black tom drew a tongue over his paw and washed his ear, still keeping close blue eyes on the rushing kits.

Palestar blinked when he noticed Nettlepaw and Jayfire enter the camp with Cardinalfoot trailing behind. The deputy walked past the mother and son to the leader and whispered for a bit to the leader, Nettlepaw suddenly felt a knot in his throat when Palestar landed his cold eyes on Nettlepaw. He stood up and approached them, sharp eyes trained on Nettlepaw.

"So you've slaughtered a ThunderClan warrior." He said with frost edging his voice.

"Yes, Palestar." Nettlepaw meowed steadily.

Palestar looked him over for a moment when Cardinalfoot added, "Jayfire and I believe that perhaps he should have first pick of the fresh-kill pile today."

Jayfire nodded in agreement to the deputy's statement. Palestar narrowed his eyes and turned around. "That sounds fine to me. You've done well, Nettlepaw. Your first kill I believe?"

"Yes, sir."

His blue eyes glinted over his shoulder as he looked at Nettlepaw with a sideways stare. He fully looked away and padded back to the tree stump. "Tell the kits. I'm sure they'd love to hear about it."

"Yes, sir." Nettlepaw replied stiffly, relaxing his muscles when he realized that he was no longer in Palestar's gaze. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding as Jayfire lightly draped her fluffy tail over his shoulder.

"He's proud of you."

"He doesn't seem like it." Nettlepaw meowed quickly without thinking. He quickly turned away, his blue gaze flickering nervously. "I'm sorry, I meant-"

"No, I understand." Jayfire purred comfortingly, watching Cardinalfoot trot away from the others to speak to Nightstem, who was also watching the kits. "Your father loves you very much." She added in a lower voice, as though afraid Palestar would hear her.

Nettlepaw shook his pelt and walked away from her toward the kits, sensing the air of sudden rejection surrounding the molly. He stepped to the kits, ignoring the questioning glances of Rockyspeck and Dewmask. The large dark tabby sat down near the kits who were all turned to the apprentice at this point.

"Nettlepaw!" Fennelkitt squealed as he stumbled over his sisters, Goldenkit and Softkit. He skidded in front of Nettlepaw with large glittering amber eyes. "What did you do on patrol today!?"

Softkit and Goldenkit soon followed after their black brother with narrowed eyes. Goldenkit growled and snapped at her brother, "Don't walk over me like that!" She licked Softkit's cheek defensively. "You almost hurt Softkit!"

"You're not the boss of me, Goldenkit!" Fennelkit hissed.

Dewmask blinked at the kits and then stood up, waving his tail in a friendly manner to his sister. "I'll bring more food later." He told Rockyspeck. "Tell Stonewatcher I said hi!" The tom trotted over to Cardinalfoot away from the queen and kits. Nettlepaw blinked curiously at the exchange.

"Nettlepaw!" Fennelkit insisted with a small hiss. "Tell us what you did!"

Nettlepaw sat down, massive compared to the size of the kits. "I was on patrol with Jayfire and the deputy. We ran into a ThunderClan cat stealing prey on our territory. So," he dug his claws into the ground recounting the moment he sunk his claws into the small warrior's throat and ripping away at fur. "I attacked him, and then killed him." The apprentice licked his paw coolly as Fennelkit stared with wide-eyes.

"Can we go back to the nursery now…?" Softkit mumbled to Goldenkit.

"How did you do it?" Goldenkit ignored her sister, fluffing up her golden-brown tail.

"I pounced on him. And he rolled over into the mud." Nettlepaw began with a cold stare to the kits. "Then I cut open his throat with my claws." He raised his paw to show some flecks of blood that remained. Goldenkit and Fennelkit squealed in excitement. Fennelkit turned around and pounced onto Goldenkit, drawing a paw innocently across her throat with them both giggling.

"I'll kill you!" Fennelkit laughed.

"Nooo!" Goldenkit wailed as she kicked her brother off of her, circling each other around Rockyspeck, the queen obviously exhausted at this point. Softkit slowly crawling her way to her mother and buried herself into her stomach fur.

Nettlepaw lowered his gaze at the bloodied paw again and back at the kits play-fighting. He twitched his tail uneasily as he watched Goldenkit sink her teeth into Fennelkit's scruff with a declaration that she's "killed him". Nettlepaw suddenly felt sick to his stomach and he looked away, eyes widening as though in a realization. It didn't take long for him to shake away the thought. _No. This is what Palestar wanted of me. The death of one measly ThunderClan warrior is justified. He was stealing prey… right?_

"You seem distracted, Nettlepaw." Meowed a strong voice behind the apprentice. The dark tabby turned to look at Stonewatcher, the father of Rockyspeck's kits. The massive golden tom sat down next to Nettlepaw, and suddenly the apprentice felt like a warm gaze covered him. "I remember my first kill." He began calmly. "A RiverClan apprentice. We were fighting over some territory. It didn't take much for me to overpower her."

"An apprentice." He began. "Were you an apprentice at the time as well?"

"Yes." Stonewatcher affirmed, keeping his gaze fixated on his kits. "How old are you, Nettlepaw?"

The apprentice looked away, suddenly feeling uneasy. "Eight moons." He said calmly.

Stonewatcher gave a gentle chuckle and shuffled his paws until he was laying down on the soft earth. He smiled again at Nettlepaw who didn't return the gaze. Nettlepaw blanked out his stare over at the kits, but was really looking somewhere else entirely, somewhere not on this plane of existence. "You're an excellent apprentice. Perhaps one day you can become Nettle_star_."

"No." Nettlepaw hastily said. "I don't think I can do that. I could never replace my father."

Stonewatcher gave a gentle smile and stood up, stretching his limbs. "I have a patrol to catch with Dewmask. I'll see you later, Nettlepaw." The tom walked over to Cardinalfoot and Dewmask, beginning to speak to one another.

Nettlepaw took another look at the kits. Softkit whimpering in Rockyspeck's fur and Goldenkit and Fennelkit mock-killing one another. He shook his head and turned to go to the fresh-kill pile to pick out something to eat, brushing away any doubts in his mind.


	3. Epiphany

**Chapter 3**

Pearpaw cleared the stream as she gracefully leapt across it to follow close behind Flowerfire. She huffed out a puff of air and brushed to her mentor on the path to the Moonpool. The apprentice felt an indent in the ground where her pawsteps were placed, finding herself looking down to see indented pawprints.

Flowerfire noticed Pearpaw looking at the indents and she smiled. "They were left behind from many generations of cats walking this path to the Moonpool." She clarified, brushing her tail over Pearpaw's spine. "We will be the next generation."

Pearpaw smiled at the notion and continued walking along the path. The scent of other Clan cats came over the air and she raised her nose, not recognizing the scents immediately. They were similar to WindClan's, but different at the same time. She blinked and looked over her shoulder to see a large pure white tom making his way to the path.

"Slatesnow," Flowerfire greeted the ThunderClan medicine cat with a smile. Pearpaw peered into the darkness seeing a black and white molly and a fluffy dark brown tom following behind him.

The black and white molly sat down and drew a tongue over her shoulder, spitting out a few pine needles she caught in her fur. "It's been a full moon." She observed with an ice-cold voice.

Flowerfire nodded. "Yes, Nightstem. Much has happened since then."

"We may speak on such things when we arrive at the Moonpool, however." Slatesnow meowed calmly, gazing over Pearpaw with a curious stare. He quickly turned away to look at the dark brown tom that scented of fish. "Timberspark?"

"I'm fine!" He wheezed softly, large puffs of air coming from his mouth. Pearpaw noted that he seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"You don't sound good." Nightstem said in a monotone voice, beginning to walk up the trail, the other medicine cats following suit after the ShadowClan cat.

Timberspark gasped and forced himself forward, lagging behind them effectively. "I'm fine," he repeated shakily, "Just a scale in my throat."

Pearpaw turned around and paused for a while out of consideration so that she could be on the same pace as the RiverClan medicine cat as the other cats went ahead. Timberspark's eyes gleamed as Pearpaw offered a gentle smile to the older tom. "Thank you…" he said softly, as though no cat had ever taken the time to lag back with him before. "RiverClan is the farthest away from the Moonpool, so the journey is hard for me."

"Have you always had breathing problems? Have you tried juniper berries or coltsfoot for it?" Pearpaw questioned in a low voice. The very idea of sharing herbs could be considered treacherous, and she wasn't willing to get yelled at by Flowerfire for it.

"I've tried," he said between heavy breaths as they continued walking. "But nothing seems to work. I've been like this since I was a kit, but it seems to have been getting worse lately."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Pearpaw said sympathetically. She wished there was something she could do to help the poor tom.

He grinned at her, yellow eyes warm despite the chill outside. "But I thank you. You must be Flowerfire's apprentice but I haven't caught your name?"

"Pearpaw," she replied. "This is my first meeting with the Dark Forest. I've only become an apprentice a moon ago."

"So you're young…!" He said. He shook his head and huffed out another breath. "I'm sorry!"

"Oh no, it's okay." Pearpaw assured. "I understand I'm still young and inexperienced. But I hope that Flowerfire teaches me everything I need to know."

Timberspark chuckled and heaved himself up on a stone blocking the path. "I had an apprentice, but she was killed when a ShadowClan patrol raided our camp." His eyes clouded over in grief but he shook his head quickly. "But that's in the past. Hopefully I'll find another apprentice soon. I have a feeling that RiverClan may not want me around with my breathing problems getting worse."

"We're here!" Flowerfire's voice rung ahead of them in a hollow.

"Coming!" Pearpaw assured. She nudged Timberspark's shoulder with her nose. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, catch up with them."

Pearpaw hesitated for a moment before racing ahead to meet with Slatesnow, Nightstem, and Flowerfire. Nightstem yawned boredly and Slatesnow twitched his tail, seemingly annoyed.

Flowerfire padded over and stood next to Pearpaw. "This is my apprentice, Pearpaw." She began warmly. "We've appointed her just a moon ago. Should I start the ceremony without Timberspark?"

"I don't see why not." Nightstem meowed with a hiss edging her voice, glaring down to Timberspark slowly trudging his paws through the light dusting of snow on the cold earth. She whipped her head back to Flowerfire, fluffing out her fur against the chill. "Can we get this overwith?"

Flowerfire glanced sideways at the ShadowClan medicine cat. The molly sat down in front of the nearly jet black pool, not even the stars were reflected on the surface of the murky black water. Flowerfire looked at Pearpaw through the incredibly pale starlight, even Pearpaw was barely able to see her mentor through the darkness of the new moon.

"Pearpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of the Dark Forest as a medicine cat?" Flowerfire's voice was hard and sinister, but still had a very slight hint of gentle pride to them.

Pearpaw took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a heartbeat, and she opened her mouth and said the words as though a ghost was possessing her. "It is." The young molly agreed.

"Then come forward." The brown cat commanded Pearpaw.

Pearpaw did as instructed and stepped forward, finding that her paws were shaking not from the cold or anticipation, but rather from a primal and carnal fear. She forced her green eyes to meet Flowerfire's.

Flowerfire spoke once again, "Warriors of the Dark Forest, I present you with this Apprentice. She has chosen the path of a Medicine Cat. Grant her your ambition and bravery so that she may understand your ways and heal her leader in accordance with your will."

_Heal my leader? Not my Clan? I suppose that is the way of the Dark Forest and the Code of No Stars. _Pearpaw glanced around at the other cats, noticing that Timberspark had just gotten to the rest of the cats and he was smiling comfortingly at her. Nightstem seemed uninterested and Slatesnow seemed slightly intrigued.

Slatesnow stepped forward, staring into the inky water of the Moonpool. Pearpaw followed his eyes and couldn't help but wonder why it was called the 'Moonpool' when no light shone into the dark puddle of water. The white tom turned around with glistening eyes. "Shall we drink from the pool?"

_Drink from it!?_ Pearpaw hesitantly looked down at the inky black water and felt a frost edge its way down her spine as her white fur began to raise slightly. _That stuff doesn't look natural or good for our health and Flowerfire expeccts me to drink from that?_

Flowerfire appeared to have noticed Pearpaw's apprehension and she frowned. "The pool is not toxic. It doesn't even taste that bad, I promise." She flicked her tail and looked away as the molly settled herself next to the water and lapped at the water, closing her eyes and drifting off to slumber.

Nightstem glared frostily at Pearpaw as she did the same as Flowerfire, Timberspark and Slatesnow following soon after. Pearpaw wobbly got herself down to the ground and hesitantly took a delicate lick to the water but immediately reeled back at the taste, quickly drawing her tongue over her paw several times to try and get the taste off. _It tastes like mouse-bile and rotten prey…! How can they stand this?_ The apprentice looked at the pool again and another chill went down her spine as she lowered her head onto her paws to sleep, hoping that one lick would be enough to get her to the realm of the Dark Forest.

When she opened her eyes, Pearpaw immediately gasped in awe. She looked up to find herself staring at a towering wall of mist, and on the other side of it seemed to be a forest too dark to look too close into, and tiny bioluminescent mushrooms dotted the roots of the shadowy trees. She was able to discern the figure of a scrawny black tom standing next to Flowerfire and talking, but Pearpaw wasn't able to hear them at all, as though they were mute.

"Flowerfire!" Pearpaw meowed, about to charge through the mist and greet her mentor, but she felt a paw suddenly touch her shoulder. The white apprentice turned around and saw the faint silhouette of a tall dark gray-brown tom with white splotches covering his pelt like kestrel feathers and green eyes with stars glittering in his spotted fur.

The tom smiled, the feathers tucked behind his ears ruffling slightly as he tilted his head at Pearpaw. "Can we walk for a bit?" He asked her softly.

"O-Of course…!" She meowed, turning around away from the mist wall and beginning to walk closely behind the tall tom scenting of herbs and windblown grass. _He must be a WindClan cat._ She observed, turning over her shoulder to try and catch another glimpse of Flowerfire, but her mentor and the black tom were already gone.

"I'm Kestrelflight, an ancient WindClan medicine cat." He said kindly to her.

Pearpaw glanced around her, fireflies floating lazily on the warm breeze and a large moon shining in the sky, the light filtering through the tall trees above them. The grass smelled sweet, and Pearpaw could swear she could hear a babbling brook nearby somewhere. Pearpaw glanced at one of the white tree trunks and could see the flicker of a tail disappearing and starlight following behind them, as though afraid to be seen. The white apprentice looked back to Kestrelflight. "The Dark Forest is a lot nicer than I expected it would be." She said, no longer feeling uneasy.

"This isn't the Dark Forest." Kestrelflight suddenly sounded slightly bitter, his tail beginning to fluff out. He halted in front of a stream, the mist from the water colliding on rocks spraying over Pearpaw and Kestrelflight's fur. He turned to her with sorrowful green eyes. "This is StarClan."

"Star… Clan? I've never heard of it before…" Pearpaw admitted shamefully.

Kestrelflight bunched his muscles and leapt the stream gracefully. He looked over his shoulder to peer back at Pearpaw. "I would think so. StarClan has been abolished for a long time." His eyes seemed lost, like he was looking back on an ancient memory. "The forest past the mist wall that you've seen is the Dark Forest, or also known as the Place of No Stars. Cats who have committed great crimes go to live there." Kestrelfight's voice lowered and his gaze softened. "Well, all cats go there now I suppose."

"Wh-What? Why don't we go to StarClan anymore? It's so nice here." Pearpaw blinked as a firefly landed on her nose, and she quickly sneezed, the lightning bug soon drifting off once again. She cleared the stream easily with her long WindClan legs. "Why am I here anyway? Should I be dreaming of the Dark Forest?"

"You should," Kestrelflight admitted as he began walking again with Pearpaw following. He nodded to a cat that ducked behind a tree as another starry cat suddenly dove into a bush and sprinted away in terror. "But we've decided that you're the one that we need to restore the Code and StarClan."

"The code? But we already have the Code of No Stars." Pearpaw attempted to correct, but had a sick feeling in her stomach that even the Code as she knew it was a lie.

"There was originally the Warrior Code. The Code of No Stars is a gross perversion of our noble Code and what it had brought for our Clans, peace and love." Kestrelflight paused. "We had elders, and they along with the queens and kits would eat first. We were allowed to have friends outside of the Clans, Half-Clans weren't slaughtered without question."

Pearpaw tried to wrap her mind around the concept, but found it unfathomable. Her entire life, she's watched warriors that reached their eighth leaf-bare be slaughtered, and half-clan kits quickly taken away from their mothers and drowned in the lake, and the mother following their deaths soon after. Pearpaw hasn't even spoken to a cat outside of WindClan besides the other medicine cats.

"We had Gatherings, too." Kestrelflight's eyes lit up at the memory and he smiled excitedly at her. "Every full moon, all the Clans would get together in a time of peace and report what happened in our Clans. We could talk and make friends with other Clan cats, and it was always so much fun." Kestrelflight's eyes dimmed once again, remembering that they could have these 'Gatherings' any longer.

"That sounds lovely," comforted Pearpaw. "A world like that I can barely fathom, but it sounds pleasant."

"It was." He admitted. Kestrelflight's gaze turned to Pearpaw, hardening, but still soft and gentle at the same time, like a brother she never knew she even had. "And that's why we want you to restore it."

"M-Me? No I can't possible… th-they'll butcher me alive!" Pearpaw's voice was laced with fear, and for once she was allowed to show it.

"You have to, no other cat in the Clans is willing to open their minds to StarClan. You know that the lives you live now is wrong." Kestrelflight's voice stopped, and he turned up to look at the moon. His eyes fogged over and he quickly lurched back down to her. "You have to find the ones willing to fight." He said as his form began to dissipate from view. "Find the bridge that lead to peace!"

"Th-The bridge? What does that even mean? Kestrelflight, please don't go!" Pearpaw begged, she had to know more about StarClan, and she didn't want to leave this gentle paradise.

"Please, Pearpaw you're the only one who can restore the Code and StarClan!"

Pearpaw opened her mouth to object but found herself slammed back into the leaf-bare cold. She moaned and opened her eyes again, seeing the inky black Moonpool in front of her. Her bones ached from the chill as she slowly brought herself to stand up. She turned over to see that Timberspark and Nightstem were already awake, and Slatesnow and Flowerfire were rousing from their sleep. Nightstem turned around and wordlessly began walking down the path away from the cats.

Timberspark observed Nightstem's leaving and chuckled slightly. "Someone's eager to get home." He licked his paw and drew it over his ear. "Hawkfrost came to me." He started saying to Slatesnow. "But he also told me I must not discuss what we have spoken of together, oddly enough."

"Not too strange." Slatesnow shook his head. "Thistleclaw approached me and told me that I must speak to Hivestar of attacking RiverClan as soon as possible. I'm sorry, but it must be done, Timberspark."

Timberspark's ears perked and he arched his back defensively. "W-Wait no, we're still recovering from ShadowClan's attack! You can't-"

"We must obey the Dark Forest." Slatesnow said sternly. "It isn't ThunderClan's fault that RiverClan's medicine cat is weak and can't even breathe properly." He flicked his white tail and began heading down the path to return home to ThunderClan.

Flowefire stepped to Timberspark and sighed. "I'm sorry about this, Timberspark."

The tom looked as though on the verge of a mental breakdown, and Pearpaw only felt pity for the tom. She shuffled her paws. _They're going to need herbs. But we can't provide that to Timberspark, or else Flowerfire and I would be executed. But Kestrelflight trusts me. I have to do something._

Flowerfire turned around, her shoulders seeming as though carrying the world. "Come, Pearpaw. We may discuss your dream when we return to WindClan."

"Yes, Flowerfire. You can go ahead without me, I'm still feeling a bit achy from the frost." Pearpaw wasn't lying, she really did feel the awful ache in her bones. She glanced again at Timberspark who was shivering and staring at his paws.

The brown molly nodded and began trotting down the path. Timberspark turned around but Pearpaw quickly stepped in front of him, her eyes blazing with determination. "Timberspark," she whispered, "I'm going to steal herbs for your Clan."

Timberspark's yellow eyes widened in shock. "Wh-What? Pearpaw, you can't," he started rushedly, looking around back and forth nervously. "If you're caught, you'll surely be killed!"

"You're still trying to recover from ShadowClan's attack. If ThunderClan's about to strike you as well, there's no way your Clan is going to survive. I'm going to steal some herbs from WindClan's storage and bring it to you." Her voice suddenly felt confident, like Pearpaw suddenly had a purpose, and something about it thrilled her on the inside and made her stomach warm.

Timberspark opened his mouth but then quickly closed it, thinking for a while. He took a deep breath and released it, still shaking. "O… Okay, Pearpaw. But please don't get caught. If you're that confident…"

"I am." She affirmed solidly. "The herbs for you will be just outside of the horseplace barn's entrance at sunrise. I'll sneak the herbs there for you tonight." She butted her head gently against the large, fluffy tom's check comfortingly. "I won't let RiverClan be killed." Pearpaw turned around, Flowerfire completely out of sight at this point. "I have to go." She meowed, the white cat turning around.

"Be careful." Timberspark said simply. "And… and thank you. Thank you very much."

The molly nodded and raced her way down the hill.


	4. Comparison

**Chapter 4**

Nettlepaw slowly limped into the camp behind Cardinalfoot, the blood splashes on his mentor's pelt were barely visible thanks to his dark ginger pelt. He glanced back at his apprentice with icy orange eyes. "Get your wounds checked by Nightstem."

"Yes, Cardinalfoot." Nettlepaw licked tenderly at a large cut on his shoulder and tried his best to hide his painful limp as he slowly walked through Palestar's line-of-sight, slipping past the entrance to the leader's den to approach where the medicine den would be.

The den was less spacious, and the ground was sandy and felt good to the paws. Nightstem lazily looked over her shoulder to see Nettlepaw. "Hello." She meowed boredly, examining the cut on Nettlepaw's shoulder. "Lay down." She commanded and began to search through some of the herbs laid out in front of her.

It was hard for the large apprentice to properly settle down in the den, flexing his paws a few times to feel the gentle sends beneath him. He finally got himself comfortable in a fern and feather nest as Nightstem approached him and examined Nettlepaw over his body wordlessly. The medicine cat glanced down at his foot, and Nettlepaw defensively tucked it closer to his body.

"Does it hurt?" She asked as she began to rub a fern-like herb over his bleeding shoulder while chewing on some leaves.

"What? My paw?" Nettlepaw twitched his tail in aggravation. "No."

Nightstem stopped and glared harshly at Nettlepaw, and even he shrunk back from her gaze. Her face got close enough that he could scent the disgustingly bitter herbs on her warm breath. "Don't lie to me. I can't heal warriors if they decide to lie to me." She set down the fern and began to lick the paste onto his shoulder. Nettlepaw flinched back from the stinging pain of the herbs. "I saw how you were limping before coming here. I assume Cardinalfoot being rough again"

"He has to be." Nettlepaw defending as he puffed out his chest, fluffing out his neck fur to look larger. Compared to Nightstem, Nettlepaw really was a large tom. "I am the leader's son. I am expected of great things."

"The Dark Forest is proud of you." She said, pulling away and sticking a few catchweed burrs to his pelt before moving on to his paw, already chewing up some hazel colored roots.

Nettlepaw perked his ears, recalling that the previous night was the new moon; the medicine cats would have gathered. "Have they said anything about me?" He couldn't help but let his curiosity bubble over onto his tongue. If the Dark Forest was praising him, he needed to know.

"I can't say anything else." She pasted the rest of the herbs onto his paw and she began to groom her pelt boredly. "No more patrols for the rest of the day."

Nettlepaw flexed his back paw and slowly stood up. "Thank you, Nightstem." He said simply, beginning to step out of the medicine den.

"Don't stray from the shadows, Nettlepaw." Nightstem warned, her normally bored voice suddenly growing ominously dark like an icy wind blowing straight through Nettlepaw's bones. He stopped and looked over his dark shoulder to face her as she continued to speak. "Remember that you are loyal to ShadowClan and ShadowClan alone."

"I would die for my Clan." He declared proudly fluffing out his tail. "You dare question my loyalty?"

"I'm not." She replied as her voice returned to her normally monotone voice, black and white tail flicking back and forth like a snake about to strike. "I'm warning you."

Nettlepaw scoffed and padded out of the den. But his ripped ears was met with hisses of arguing. Nettlepaw flickered his eyes to look at Wetleg hissing furiously at Blackpaw. Nettlepaw's eyes widened at the sight of his sister standing up against her mentor.

"You know I'm not him! You can't compare me to him like that!" Blackpaw hissed furiously, her pupils were delicately thin slits with blazing rheumy eyes and her hackles raised high like spiked rocks.

Wetleg lashed his tail at his apprentice. "I can and I will! If you had been paying attention, then we could have caught that pheasant! I am your mentor and you _will _respect me!"

Blackpaw blinked when she noticed Nettlepaw stepping out of the medicine den and her eyes softened at the sight of her brother. "Nettlepaw, back me up!" She hissed, "Tell Wetleg that I'm not Palestar!"

Nettlepaw's eyes suddenly narrowed as he padded over to his sister. "We are his kits. We have expectations to meet, and if you can't meet them, then Wetleg has every right to call you out like that."

The black molly's eyes returned to slits, baring her teeth and lashing her tail furiously. "You're not the leader! You can't-"

"He's right, no truer words have been spoken, Nettlepaw." The blue-gray tom nodded gratefully to Nettlepaw who dipped his head in return. Wetleg whipped his head back to his apprentice, addressing Blackpaw once again with a cold snarl. "Eat your words and say that you've messed up the hunt."

Blackpaw curled her lips, "No."

Nettlepaw growled at her and began to start walking away, when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his back. He yowled and instinctively rolled over, smashing the attacker onto the ground with his massive weight.

"Blackpaw, stop!" Wetleg hissed at his apprentice as she began to wriggle her way out from underneath her brother.

Nettlepaw rolled over again, trying to catch her under his weight once more, but missed when he saw her skid around, covered in dirt and pine needles, huffing for breath. She charged at him again with unsheathed claws and leaped ahead. He stood up and dug his claws into the soft earth when she barreled into him, sending each other rolling through the ferns and dirt of the camp.

The tom heard the sound of a few cats cheering him on and hissing furiously at Blackpaw.

Nettlepaw ended up on top of his sister, one claw planted on her face and the other clinging to her shoulder as he used his back legs to pin down her stomach so she couldn't claw at his stomach too easily. The red clouding his vision suddenly began fading away when he saw Blackpaw's eye peeking out from between one of his claws, an eye blazing with hate and spite.

Nettlepaw flicked his ear when he heard the voice of Palestar speak up. "Punish her." He commanded.

"Yes, Palestar." Nettlepaw meowed obediently, but it felt like he was fighting against the heaviest of paws when he moved it upwards to strike at her. Something flashed in his mind, a remembrance of the warrior he killed in the forest. The fight went nearly identical. He was going to let this one go differently though, he wasn't going to kill his sister who was consumed with rage.

Nettlepaw slashed his claw downward across Blackpaw's eye and she howled in pain, but it was quickly drowned out by the ShadowClanners surrounding them caterwauling in approval. Blood flew through the air and splashed onto the ground, streaking a nearby fern with red. Nettlepaw clambered off of the black molly and she began writing in pain and rubbing her attacked eye with a paw covered in blood.

Nettlepaw was still as stone when she suddenly glared at him with a fiery rage, but Palestar stepped between the two of his kits. "Blackpaw, go to the medicine den." He told her as he turned to face Nettlepaw with an unknown gaze in his ice-blue eyes. After several heartbeats, he twisted around and flicked his tail to command Cardinalfoot to follow after him into the leader's den.

Nettlepaw looked down at his reddened paw, suddenly feeling a bit sick to the stomach. He knew that Palestar was likely telling him to kill Blackpaw, but he spared her. Perhaps not in the best way, but he still spared her life, and Nettlepaw suddenly had a large stone settle in his belly made of apprehension and fear.


	5. Benefaction

**Chapter 5**

**Author's Note: A gentle reminder that the warrior age cut-off is eight LEAF-BARES, ****_not_**** eight moons. Meaning a cat can live up to the age of eight YEARS before being exiled or killed.**

White paws slunk through the darkness of the medicine den, an apprentice glancing nervously at her mentor repeatedly as she blinked her green eyes, brushing through piles of herbs as quietly as possible. Pearpaw piled some goldenrod into a small pile, glancing nervously back at Flowerfire who stirred slightly in her sleep.

_I'm sorry, Flowerfire. But Timberspark and RiverClan needs these._

She balled up the goldenrod and some stiff burdok roots hardened by the leaf-bare chill into a large parcel of dock leaves that can also be used. She slowly lifted it up with her muzzle, freezing still.

Pearpaw was shivering now as she slowly turned to see Flowerfire who grunted in her sleep and then rolled over, splaying her brown paws over the nest. The white molly let out a breath of relief and then began to slowly pad her way out of the medicine den, taking in a deep breath of warm air through her nose before walking out with the parcel in her jaw, almost dropping it at the sudden coldness outside.

Pearpaw looked down at one of her paws and raised it, seeing that she was beginning to leave tracks in the slow. She blinked in the sudden realization that the warriors could follow her path when morning came and see that she went to the horseplace, and likely scent Timberspark later.

She padded forward a little bit more and brushed her white tail against some of the snow, covering up the tracks that she left behind. Pearpaw brightened at her own intuitiveness and then began to slowly walk out of the WindClan hollow, still flicking her tail on her tracks as she went on. _Even if i can just erase all tracks at once on the way in, I can't risk somebody waking up while I'm gone and seeing my pawprints. I have to erase them on my way there and back._

The cold bit into her bones, and Pearpaw considered a few times turning back to the warmth of the medicine den next to Flowerfire, but she decided that this mission was too important to turn away from. Even if she was caught and killed, Pearpaw realized that she would gladly die if it meant helping Timberspark and RiverClan from a few unwarranted attacks in a row.

In the distance, a large red twolegnest nestled close to the lake's edge appeared through the wonderland of snow. There were massive creatures with stone paws and long muzzles enclosed in something that looked like it could be made out of cut trees. _Those must be "horses". _Pearpaw thought, recalling her mother's nursery tales and descriptions of the things.

Going against her instinct, the apprentice padded to the large entrance with streaks of white on the walls of the red structure. She looked over at a nearby bush and walked toward the thorny plant, digging some of the snow next to it and placed the parcel into it, shielded by the thorns and fragile brown leaves. The apprentice panted and looked at the darkening sky, seeing a tiny hint of violet streaking near the horizon, signifying that dawn was approaching.

Pearpaw turned around, flicking her tail once again over her pawprints as she did on the way there and began the jog back to her Clan, praying to StarClan that she'll get home before Flowerfire awoke. _Praying to StarClan… _she thought as she continued to trot through the snow. _It has a nicer ring to it than praying to the Dark Forest, I think._

* * *

Pearpaw slowly awoke to the feeling of her ribs being roughly jabbed. She raised her head and yawned loudly, turning her head to see the disappointed face of Flowerfire. Pearpaw felt her ears heat up suddenly and she swallowed back her fear. She hadn't gone to sleep long ago, and she knew Flowerfire could tell.

"I've tried waking you up for a while now." The medicine cat said in annoyance and backing up from the white molly.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep well." Pearpaw lied, shaking her fur and standing up with her eyes still heavier than the pebbles on the lakeshore.

Flowerfire's whiskers twitched. "Some of our herbs are missing. Do you happen to know anything about that?"

"L-Like I said, I couldn't sleep." She said quickly. "So I checked out the herb storage and got rid of the ones that were molding or too wilted to use."

Flowerfire sighed and flicked her ear, making movements to exit the medicine den. "Next time, consult me about things like that. Come, we need to gather more." Her brown tail flickered out of view, and Pearpaw released a heavy sigh of relief, sure that the medicine cat had swallowed Pearpaw's lies.

The white molly stepped out of her nest and followed after her mentor, raising her tired, blurry vision to see Hawkkit arguing with one of the warriors, Wrenwing.

"It's not fair! Mistytail always got moss herself for the nursery!" Hawkkit protested to the speckled brown molly. Flowerfire turned her head to look at them.

"Yeah!" Mosskit chimed in. "I don't want to sleep in my nest with dirty old moss!"

Wrenwing snorted at the wailing kits. "Kits aren't allowed to leave the camp and your mother's not here to clean our your nests. You have no choice but to sleep in them until you're apprentices." She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Praying to the Dark Forest I don't end up mentoring one of you."

Hawkkit glared and then quickly turned tail to charge back into the nursery made of brambles and bracken. Mosskit slowly trailed after his brother. Wrenwing hissed after them with a lashing tail and suddenly met her gaze to Flowerfire, in which she smiled pleasantly. "Good morning, Flowerfire."

"Sister." Flowerfire said stiffly.

"Are you going out today with Pearpaw?" Wrenwing peered at Pearpaw, who quickly ducked behind Flowerfire shyly. Something about the brown molly's gaze unsettled her. It was something like that of a hawk watching its intended prey from a high tree branch.

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse me," Flowerfire bumped past her sister with a sharp shoulder, Pearpaw trotting calmly after her mentor and not bothering to look back at Wrenwing's unsettling stare. When they were out of earshot of the warrior, Flowerfire gave a low growl. "I hate her. She claims that being a warrior serves the Dark Forest better than a medicine cat ever would."

"We do eat the very last." Pearpaw gently reminded as she fluffed out her fur.

"I know." Flowerfire released a breath. Her amber gaze glistened over. "Kits first, warriors second, queens third, and medicine cats last. Tough is our lives, you know."

Pearpaw sighed. She hasn't been medicine cat long enough to understand the pain of hunger as there was normally something for them at the end of the day, even if it was a scrawny mouse no bigger than her paw, but at least it was something. But as leaf-bare settled in, it would be inevitable that there would be nothing on the pile left for them soon enough.

Flowerfire began rushing faster in the snow, turning back to face Pearpaw. "Come. We have herbs to find."


End file.
